A Tribute to Visitors

Given the fact that we have only been out here for 9 months, I think we've done rather well on the visitor front. Three visits. We had the same number in Canada, only we were there for over 3 years. So either Hong Kong is high on a lot of people's "Want to Visit" List, or our popularity has peaked in recent years or, more likely of course, word has finally got out that I actually make a pretty good tour guide. Well... I did I start my "career" in Travel & Tourism, so I guess it was a natural progression...

Seriously though, the visitors have made a big difference. Having people take the time and effort, not to mention the cash, to come out and see us here and share the experience with us, if only for a few days, means a lot. Living where we live, it takes a bit of preparation making space for an extra body or two, but it's very worth it. For me, as Official Tour Guide (I'm the only one not working don't forget) I get to test my own knowledge of Hong Kong and see how much I've learned and absorbed in these 9 months. It's been a bonus too that I haven't had to do the same excursions three times over...I love that each visit has been very different. Each time I get to see a slightly new Hong Kong, viewed from a different perspective...that of our guests.

So thank you all...you know who you are of course...for being such great friends..and in some cases family... and thank you to our most recent guest for helping me to get a bit more creative with my photography last week. Below I'm previewing my very first attempt at working with Photoshop...although none of these images have been tampered with, simply displayed in a new way...I think it would make a rather nice greeting card actually....

Bumpy Landing

So, it's back to HK with a bit of a bump really. I return with a cold, on top of the jet lag but I had a wonderful time, so it's a small price to pay. Our "summer" holiday was a mixture of experiences. Of course there was Austria, a country I've longed to visit for as long as I can remember, mainly because of my addiction to snowy mountains and I have to say, it was worth the wait. It is also worthy of a return visit but I might wait until we are living a bit closer next time, after all, it was a long flight in economy.

The second part of our holiday was very much a family thing. A family wedding to be precise. I got to see my immediate family - my parents and my brothers and a few family members I hadn't seen in years. It was a beautiful and very happy occasion. The bride was positively glowing and I've never seen the groom look happier. So why then do I feel a little bit sad now rather than being able to revel in the joy of seeing loved ones?

Because it can be challenging being away from family, friends, loved ones. Separated by oceans. I'm not regretting any of the moves we've made but it's at times like these when you get a little taster of that closeness again, the familiarity that is family, that you realise that you miss it more than you thought you did. The coping mechanisms put in place are temporarily disabled and have to be re-built again. Not knowing when or where you may see them again conjures up a host of emotions...sensations perhaps...another unknown quantity in the life of a travelling spouse! Like all things, the feelings will pass, as will the runny nose and the coughing.

It was brought to my attention during this family gathering that I'm on Facebook a lot. That I am always updating my status...and does everyone really need to know whether or not I'm enjoying my afternoon cup of tea? (for example). Now, I can be a rather sensitive soul and I found myself searching for the answer to this question and many others. Do they? Does anyone care? Should I stop what I do? Why do I even do it? Fortunately, I didn't have to search long for my answers. I'm sure there are many people who do not care in the slightest and they certainly don't need to know any of the stuff I tell them but I do it for one simple reason; to keep in touch. When you're so far away it's hard to maintain a normal friendship in the ways you have in the past and Facebook and Blogging are both ways in which I can keep in touch, at least from my side, and lets face it, Blogging is very one sided. I've been amazed by how many of my friends over the course of the last 8 months have casually mention that they always read my blog, when in fact I had no idea that they were even aware of it. It's a means of communication and if I'm lucky, it sparks conversation, trivial though it may be, but necessary and oh-so-welcome to me, over here, on the other side of the world.

Auf Wiedersehen

And so that was Austria. It was over way too quick but that's the thing with holidays...they always fly by and before you know it, it's time to leave.

I love Austria. Mountains, fresh air, green fields covered in alpine flowers, extremely cute houses, blue sky and endless supplies of delicious cake! If we had stayed any longer I may have developed a serious addiction to Sacher Torte.

So these last few days of our holiday, in St Wolfgang, have been misty and wet. Very wet. For our entire stay in fact, which was unfortunate given the potential view from our hotel window, but I'm not really complaining... we got to see plenty of snowy mountain peaks last week and anyway, the lack of co-operative weather made it perfectly excusable to indulge in the hotel facilities, which were well worth attending to.

And whilst we are on the subject of indulgence, it seems to me that the Number One pass time in Austria is Eating Cake, closely followed by Drinking. Alcoholic beverages of all descriptions, all over the place. I'm not sure that unlicensed cafes exist here - any place that serves cakes, and that is any cafe, restaurant, bar, pub...Everywhere seems to serve cake and sometimes to the exclusion of any other type of food, well, you're guaranteed a huge range of alcoholic beverages available to choose from to accompany your chosen slice of cake. I daresay that this is probably not unique to Austria, after all, I haven't done a huge amount of european travel, but needless to say, I will remember Austria as The Place to Eat Cake and if not with a nice cup of tea, with something sparkly... but this particular indulgence must end here, now. After all, I have a dress to squeeze into on Saturday... a wedding...and there is no time to make any alterations!

So...Auf Wiedersehen beautiful Austria.... I feel sure we will return...one day....if only for another slice of Sacher Torte....

First Impressions of Austria (May 24)

It is SO wonderful to be here. The air is clear. The temperature is cool, but not cold...and there is an air of calm. Nobody is in a rush to get anywhere. Well...apart from the cars on the autohahn on our drive here from Munich; It’s been a while since I’ve witnessed that kind of speed on the road! The cars in HK want to go fast but there is so little space between them and the vehicle in front that it must be extremely frustrating for speed fans and all the Ferrari drivers. Here though...wow....there is no stopping them.

Yes...I am english, so I have to mention the weather. We have only been here for 2 nights and already we are somewhat bemused to wake up to whiteness. Yes, it did snow a day before we arrived, but only on the mountain tops...that is not the sort of whiteness I’m referring to. After all, I did order a delivery of snow for the mountain peaks...snow topped mountains are my favourite kind. Low cloud however, mist, fog. The sort of thing I have been waking up to every morning for the last 4 months. This I really did not expect. However, my immediate despair was quickly dispelled by the fact that after a few hours...the cloud clears and reveals the most beautiful clear, bright blue sky. At last...this is what we came for and it feels like coming home. I am starting to feel the tension leave my body...my back is even starting to feel better.

This morning was particularly white. We could not see anything of the gorgeous view that lies outside of our window. Complete whiteness, incredible. We made our way down to breakfast and were greeted by our host who seemed pleased with the weather, saying it was going to be a lovely hot, sunny day. I questioned this...and he reassured me that the whiteness was a good sign...the whiter the better he said...and now, less than 2 hours later, I can see what he was talking about. Always trust the locals when it comes to the weather. The mist has lifted and the view is starting to re-emerge. I can see the tree-filled mountainside opposite us, and the small village in the valley.... the lake is visible once more and the town of Zell am See nestled at the edge of Lake Zell in the distance. There is a strip of low cloud hovering over the lake, giving it a feel of early morning and best of all, the snow-capped mountains have emerged from their shield of cloud...revealing their jagged white peaks. All is well in my world..... our plans to head out early are back on after that temporary blip and I have a feeling it is only going to get better from here.

More Things to do with your Visitors

Visit the Flower Market...

Visit the Bird Market...
Visit the Goldfish Market...

Take the cable car from Tung Chung to see the Big Buddha on Lantau...

Marvel at the immensity of the Big Buddha...

Things to Do with your Visitors in Hong Kong

We recently received our second set of visitors here in HK, 8 months in to our stay here and it was so lovely to see some old friends from the home country again. Just like last time, back in December, when our first set left, I found myself in a bit of an odd state of mind once we'd waved them off at some normally unseen hour on Saturday morning. Seeing close friends and family when you are usually so far away from them, can churn things up a bit. Emotionally. The visit was not emotional, it was great, we went out, had fun, saw some sights, ate too much, all the usual stuff you do with friends, and then it was all over. Time to re-integrate back into my HK life...for now...wondering when we'll see them again, and indeed where.

But enough pondering...here's some of the stuff we did in that week with our visitors...all typical Hong Kong sightseeing stuff.....

We visited the island of Lantau and made a stop at the village on stilts; Tai O.

We got the Star Ferry (the green one) over to Kowloon and strolled down the Avenue of Stars, admiring the ever-hazy view of Hong Kong Island...

We wandered around Central, admiring the impressively tall buildings.

We visited HK's alleged oldest and most important (Taoist) temple, Man Mo Temple, built in the 1840s as one of the new colony's first traditional-style temples. It's named after its 2 principal deities: Man, the god of literature and Mo, the god of war.

And no visit to Hong Kong would be complete without exposing yourself to a feeling of intense nausea, as you wander around the streets and alleyways of Sheung Wan's dried food markets. Not for the faint-hearted...or those with sensitive constitutions. I don't plan to return any time soon!

A little Taste of Shanghai

The evening I arrived, it was tipping it down. It looked a lot like Hong Kong, only wetter. I took this photo on my first day, whilst out bravely exploring alone. I say bravely because it felt brave. I'm used to Hong Kong and going out alone rarely phases me but Shanghai, where there is virtually no english spoken, apart from within the walls of big business hotels, I don't mind admitting, it was a whole different story. I did it anyway of course, at least on the first day, when I was open-minded and eager to explore. The weather was unfortunately grey and really much colder than I was expecting it to be, so it was a rather shivery day out, but I took myself to an area called the Bund and strolled the pedestrianised area just soaking up the atmosphere.

On my way back to the hotel...in search of what seemed to me to be a very elusive taxi, I got quite freaked out. Naively I believed that if there was a green man showing on the crossing lights that pedestrians would be safe to cross the road. Not so. Yes, this is when people attempt to cross the road but clearly they take their lives in their hands when they do so. My first attempt resulted in a near miss with a motorbike or two, or maybe three...I remember them coming from different sides, not really sure which way to leap...I think I just stopped still in the middle of the road and they moved around me. Either way, it was fine, I didn't get hit, but that was the first and last time that I trusted that little green man!

We visited the Jade Buddha Temple, a bit too briefly to be honest, because we failed to check the guide book for closing time. We arrived about 20 mins before closing time but of course they just took our money and didn't bother to tell us that. We simply found ourselves getting a very quick guided tour (not requested, but I think that's the way they do it there) which ended up in the gift shop after about 10-15 mins. When we said we just wanted to go and take a final look around before buying anything (yes, it was rather hard sell) we were told it was all closed now and we could always come back tomorrow. Hmmm. I was not impressed. On the plus side though, we did arrive in time to catch the end of a prayer session the monks were holding for the victims of the recent earthquake in China, which was rather beautiful to witness.

We also visited the Old part of town - Shanghai Old Street including Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar. Quite The Experience! There were some beautiful old style buildings which you can just about make out here, but in my opinion the whole area was totally spoiled by filling these buildings with modern day shops...like Starbucks! As much as I enjoy my Starbucks coffee these days, it was just a little disappointing to see. There were also plenty of more local wares for sale on the market stalls of the Bazaar on the other extreme but bartering was a must, and even in our case involved the market stall owner running after us with a better offer in an attempt to sway us. Really not my game but interesting to experience.

Yuyuan Gardens was one of my favourite parts of Shanghai. After escaping the hassling environment of the Bazaar it was like stepping into a sanctuary...a sanctuary full of other people...but a santuary. It was a beautiful Spring day too, which made for very pleasant wandering weather and some good photo opportunities.

Blogger has run out of space for photos on this post now which means no photo of my very favourite part of Shanghai - the French Concession. An area heavily influenced by the french "era" resulting in a trendy, boutiquey area with some great local arts, crafts and clothes stores mixed in with unique little indoor/outdoor cafes set in some very small, old lanes. The mix of old and new is perfect and this time, in my humble opinion, it really works. After all my time in Asia, I finally bought some "souvenirs" - the location was right, the sales tactics were not pushy, just helpful and the products were good quality. Oh and the sun was shining that day too - perfect!

So all in all, a great trip. A good mix of experiences and hopefully I will get to return one day and pop back to some of my favourite places, and indeed, some of the places we didn't have time for....